A few years back I had the unexpected and previously unsought experience of living in an intentional temporary community. It was intentional in that people chose to be there and contribute to its care for weeks or months and occasionally in my case years. It was temporary because the flow and movement of members was high.
I was drawn to the haven like qualities this sanctuary offered up to me. Little did I foresee or know in advance what this experience would really provide.
It is rare in our contractual and transactional societies to find as an adult a place to live and serve which does not involve the exchange of money in either direction. To be unleashed and freed from the influence of financial necessities allowed for a more natural and unfettered state of being. Of course there is free will. I did have a choice as to whether I followed through on the suggested tasks I completed each day. And I could, if I wished, go over and above this suggested contribution in other less directed ways. What this led to was behaviour and actions that in any other settings I would not have countenanced and yet in a caring intentional community is was satisfying and rewarding to offer support for the benefit of others. Often these others were people I would not know or maybe meet.
What I gained was this deep sense of giving for the benefit of a greater whole and yes I got a strong feeling of appreciation in a generalised sense from this whole. What was unexpected and unique was to have this flow of appreciation be unmediated by money. I was not being bought. I was not prostituting my time and skills. I was gifting my time and contribution to others.
It could be argued I was getting a reward of sorts because my board and lodgings were covered in this process. There is something in this argument, especially if someone had no other means by which to place a roof over their heads and food on the table. That was luckily not my circumstances. I could leave whenever I wanted to and I had a place to go to and the means to feed myself. So what compelled me to stay so long?
I found when money was removed I could fundamentally relax in mind and body in ways I had not been able to achieve before. My contribution was not being judged by the market place. The work I completed each day was received in quite a different spirit. I could therefore stop worrying if what I was doing was good enough. My turning up and being available to help was enough. Difference was celebrated and understood. No one person would do the same tasks in exactly the same way.
When money was removed I only wanted and took what I needed. There was not the necessity to store excess because of the shared pot available equally to all in the community.
I began to understand what it is truly like to serve without there being some financial gain involved.
To live in a community is healing and a privilege. There are so many of life's activities, rituals and celebrations that become more profound when offered and/ or received in a community context.
As the quote above declares, nothing in nature lives for itself. I know what this means having had the experience I had living in an intentional community. I am not sure I would truly know what this means if I had not done so.
